(CNN) - It's pretty much all tied up in a crucial Senate contest that could decide whether the Republicans take control of the chamber in November's midterm elections, according to a new poll.

A Quinnipiac University survey of Iowa voters released Wednesday indicates Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley with a slight 44%-40% edge over GOP state Sen. Joni Ernst in the battle to succeed longtime Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin, who is retiring at the end of the year. If the Republicans can flip Harkin's seat and five other Democratic held seats, they would win control of the Senate.

(CNN) – Traveling to the first caucus state of 2016, where presidential candidates will meet a much-anticipated test, three potential Republican candidates took the stage Saturday at the Iowa GOP state convention to tout conservative principles and a new GOP message.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, declared that if the GOP sticks to conservative principles, it will “be the dominant party again.”FULL POST

(CNN) - The new Des Moines Register survey makes one thing clear: Iowa Republicans don't think their favorite potential candidate for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016 could win a national election.

The poll ranked GOP Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee and chairman of the powerful House Budget Committee, first in favorability among 11 Republicans considering bids for the GOP nomination.

(CNN) - It got ugly pretty quickly in the Senate battle in Iowa, a crucial contest that could decide whether the Republicans take control of the chamber in the midterms.

The campaign of Republican nominee Joni Ernst Thursday charged that the Democratic nominee in the race, Rep. Bruce Braley, is "degrading women by comparing Joni Ernst to a 'chick' in his latest campaign ad."FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Rick Perry, the Texas governor and erstwhile Republican presidential contender, played host on Tuesday night to more than a dozen well-connected New Hampshire politicos – his latest effort to woo GOP power brokers as he plots a repeat bid for the White House in 2016.

The confab, held over dinner at the governor’s mansion in Austin, was organized by Republican operative Mike Dennehy, Perry’s man-on-the-ground in New Hampshire, and included several business leaders and Republican activists from the nation’s first primary state.

Ahead of the state's GOP primary on June 3, the newspaper's editorial board argued Ernst, a state senator, is a "smart, well-prepared candidate who can wrestle with the details of public policy from a conservative perspective without seeming inflexible."